


Love at First Bite

by lauren2381



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21807622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lauren2381/pseuds/lauren2381
Summary: Secret Santa Fic!When Brock meets Cerb, and the first mission that they go on together!
Relationships: Cerberus & Brock Reynolds
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	Love at First Bite

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RayByAnotherName](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayByAnotherName/gifts).



Brock Reynolds was not a stupid man. In fact one might say that he was above average in intelligence, but lacked the easy charisma and charm that one needed if they were going to succeed in life. But that was fine by Brock, he didn’t need fame or fortune or wealth, all he needed was to get through BUDS in one piece and become a SEAL, everything after that was gravy. 

So when he was called in to the Captain’s office, the first thought that ran through Brock’s mind was how he was going to get out of whatever mess he had found himself in and still get to be a SEAL. Thumb rubbing his index finger underneath the table, Brock forced himself to remain calm and look at the captain while he finished reading a report. It would not do to appear nervous, better to look innocent until someone accused him otherwise. 

“Petty Officer Reynolds, do you know why I called you in here today?”

Brock took a deep breath. “Truthfully sir, I don’t.” He didn’t think that there was anything wrong with his performance so far, he wasn’t in the top or bottom five, he kept to himself, didn’t mouth off. There was nothing on his mind that could lead to being called into the captain’s office, or at least nothing that he had done wrong. 

“Someone mentioned to me that you had a knack for working with sniffers, is that correct?”

Brock hesitated. Yes he enjoyed working with the pups, but he didn’t think that he truly had a  _ knack _ for it, it was just common nature. “You could say that sir,” he demurred politely, not wanting to outright say that the captain was incorrect. 

“According to these reports, it’s more than a knack, Petty Officer. And I believe that this is your best opportunity to become a Tier One Operator.”

That one sentence had Brock’s complete attention. If there was a way to achieve his goal, he was all ears, or in this case paws. “Sir?”

“You’re a good sailor, Reynolds and you have the makings of a fine operator. But sometimes we all need to play to our strengths to help the team as a whole, this is how you help the team. I’m recommending you for EOD canine training prior to selection. From there you will be drafted onto a team where you and your companion will assist. Is that clear?”

“With all due respect Captain, I don’t know the first thing about working with EOD dogs,” Brock admitted with a half grin. “The only dogs I’ve ever known wanted nothing but treats and belly rubs. Sir”

“You’ll learn, Reynolds. That’s what the training is for. Go down to the kennel at seventeen hundred tonight, find one that you mesh with. You start training tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”

Brock knew better than to argue, he was given an order and was expected to complete his mission. Making his way back to the barracks Brock wasted as much time as he could before making his way down the kennel. He didn’t know why he was dragging his feet, of all the specialized training that he could have been assigned to, and EOD wasn’t the worst, in fact it might be the best option that Brock had. He was a good shot, but not good enough to go to sniper school. Languages twirled around in his head until he wasn’t sure what was Pashtu and what was Arabic, that option was out. He didn’t blend in well, too quiet to be seen as a normal man and not a spook. This was the option that would lead Brock to his dream, and that was what he was going to stick with.

Knocking on the door, Brock waited to be buzzed into the kennel. Shaking hands with the friendly face, Brock stood at attention, waiting for orders. 

“You don’t have to be at attention with me, at ease sailor,” the woman chuckled. “Captain Harrington sent you down to match with a canine right?” she said flipping through the paperwork on her desk. 

“Yes ma’am, to be truthful I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for,” Brock said, fingers twitching at his side. He really needed to learn how to control that tic.

“No one really does, we just walk through the kennels. We don’t have any bad options, so the one you mesh with will be yours.” The woman could tell that the young sailor in front of her didn’t quite understand, but she pressed on. “You’ll know when we find the right dog, follow me.”

Walking side by side, Brock looked in on all of the cages, heart breaking at the soulful eyes that stared back at him. If he had it his way, these dogs would never stay in a kennel. But he couldn’t just take them all, he needed to find one. They were almost to the end of the row when Brock spotted one sitting further back in the cage, not meeting his eyes. 

Stopping in front of the cage, Brock crouched down, missing the smile that came over the young woman’s face. She knew that he had found his dog, hopefully he did too. 

“Who’s this?” Brock said, sticking his finger in between the bars on the kennel. The dog was obviously older than the other pups that they had walked past, but that was ok. Brock didn’t know if he was cut out for the type of exuberance that pups had stored up, but this beauty was calm. She was quiet, like him. 

“She’s an older dog that we took from a unit that operated down in Mexico hunting cartels.”

Brock looked up when she paused, a frown marring her lovely face. “You took her from the unit?” he questioned, not liking the implication that the dog was rescued. 

“They were a little  _ rough _ to say the least. She was imprinted on narcotics, but took to identifying explosives when we brought her here. She’s got a lot of years left in her, but she’s a bit timid with men.”

Brock sat for a moment, hoping that the dog would come up to him. They sat in silence for a few moments and Brock was about to give up, thinking that the dog was scared of him, but she stood, cocking one ear in the air. “Hey girl, my name’s Brock.”

Trotting over to him, the dog licked his fingers, settling near the bars of the kennel. Brock had made a choice and it seemed that the pup agreed with the decision. Turning back to the young woman, he asked “What’s her name?”

“The guy who took her last named her Cerberus, what a strange name,” she chuckled. “It’s the only thing she’ll answer to though, so we couldn’t change it.”

“That’s fine,” Brock murmured, entranced by the gentle brown eyes of the malinois, she really was a beautiful dog. Grinning, Brock thought about the implication of being named after the guard dog of hell, it was pretty appropo. Cerberus was the three headed guard dog of hell, protecting any souls from escaping the land of the dead. This Cerberus, however, would protect souls from making it to the pearly gates. It was perfect. “Do I need to sign any paperwork? She’s the one that I’d like, I’ll admit that I don’t know much about how this works.”

“I’ll get the leash and harness, then you’ll sign the paperwork and be on your way. Once you get drafted you’ll have the option to have in a kennel in your barracks. Tomorrow at oh eight-hundred you’ll pick her up for training.”

Brock scrawled his signature on the dotted line, not thinking twice about the decision. Maybe this was the reason that Harrington was a captain and Brock was a greenie, he clearly knew Brock better than he knew himself, or at least knew what he would be good at. 

Lying in his bunk, Brock thought about the draft in the next week. He was hoping to be drafted to a good team, maybe even one that he could call his brothers. Drifting to sleep, the last conscious thought that Brock had was that even if he didn’t mesh with the team, Cerberus would be his companion. He had someone in his corner, even if she could only communicate with barks and slobbery dog kisses, it was better than being alone. 

The first mission that Brock and Cerberus went on together was the week after being drafted to Bravo team as Bravo Six, low man on the totem pole, but still on the team. It was a simple snatch and grab, an easy mission for Brock to jump in on without feeling out of his depth. Or at least that’s what Swanny said. Walking down the dusty road in Jbad, Brock felt a tug at the leash that he had clipped to his belt before he heard the loud bark. Stopping short, he raised his hand, signaling to the rest of Bravo to stop. When Cerberus stopped and barked, she found something. “What did ya find Cerb?”

“Why is the thing barking, there’s nothing here. It’s literally an empty road. I think you got a defective one,” Adam complained. He longed for the comfort of his hammock and the sooner that they got to the helo, the sooner he could call Victoria. Hannah was sick and he would like to check in on his wife and child before it was too late back at home. 

“I think she found the land mine field,” Jason said, standing still in awe. While Adam was Bravo two, he had finally made it up to the rank of Bravo three. Swanny had made good decisions with his team, but even Jason was a little apprehensive about having an EOD on the team. But if it kept him from going home to Alana and the kids in a box, he would find a way to like the pup. 

Swanny cursed, keying in his comms. “TOC what in the holy _hell_ did we walk into?”

All Bravo elements stood stock still while they waited for confirmation via thermal imaging in ISR. One wrong twitch of a toe could end up with a limb blown off, of worse not making it out of Jbad. 

“The dog is right, we’re in a land mine field. Can’t divert around it and make it to the helo in time,” Swanny muttered, hands clenching his rifle tightly. “Reynolds. You and the dog are gonna go first, we’ll follow in a line, you got me?”

Brock nodded, swallowing tightly. This wasn’t exactly what he had envisioned when he thought about his first mission on Bravo. “Cerb, lead,” he commanded, following the careful steps that the pup made until they were all out of the field, limbs all still attached where they were supposed to be. Brock felt the claps on his shoulder, but the real hero of the night was Cerberus. She would be getting plenty of belly rubs when they were home, but until then it was still business. They still had to make it to the helo.

Clipping the pup to his vest, Brock clipped himself to his brothers and swayed in the wind while the loaded up. Finally resting in his hammock, Brock placed Cerb on his chest. They hadn’t gotten around to finding a solution to a traveling kennel, but for now, Brock was ok with that. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard footsteps next to his hammock. Pretending to sleep, Brock felt a hand on Cerberus and then heard the soft whine that she made when she wanted treats. Cracking an eye open, he watched Swanny toss her a bone, ruffling her ears. 

“Go back to sleep, kid. She’s earned the bone. We’re running drills with her as soon as we land.” Swanny muttered, finally admitting that the dog was a good addition to this team. He had his reservations when Harrington overrode his draft choice, but he couldn’t argue with success. 

Brock nodded, closing his eyes again. Maybe this team would work out, he just needed something to break the ice. Turns out saving people’s butts worked wonders for forming bonds of brotherhood, good girl Cerb.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was everything that you wanted and more! Merry Christmas :)


End file.
